Where's Hochuli? Not at Broncos-Chargers

The Associated Press

Looking for Ed Hochuli to work another Denver-San Diego game, this one with the AFC West title on the line?

Forget it. Hochuli, whose blunder helped decide the first game between the Broncos and Chargers – in favor of Denver – will be a couple thousand miles east in Green Bay on Sunday for the Lions-Packers game, where Detroit will be trying to avoid the first 0-16 season in NFL history. The Broncos and Chargers play at night in the AFC West showdown that concludes the regular-season schedule.

Hochuli and his crew will be officiating in Green Bay because the schedule is drawn up before the season. In any case, by league policy, officiating crews do not do two games between the same teams in any season.

The referee at the Broncos-Chargers game will be John Parry.

In the final minute of the first meeting in Denver in Week 2, Hochuli ruled that a ball that slipped from Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler's grasp was an incomplete pass instead of a fumble.

The ball was recovered by the Chargers and Hochuli later acknowledged his decision was wrong. However, by rules the call could not be changed, Denver kept possession and eventually scored on a fourth-down pass, then made a 2-point conversion and won 39-38.

If the Chargers (7-8) had won the game, they would already have clinched the division over the Broncos (8-7). Now the winner of Sunday night's game will be the champion.